"Screw it, let's ride" was the ­position Harley-Davidson took when the economy tanked. So said ex-motorcycle drag racer and ­business jet owner Terry Vance, who thinks the cure for general aviation lethargy could be a page out of the motorcycle company's marketing playbook.

"You want to make sure with a race in which you'll be flying home with other drivers that you don't crash into them. It's happened before, and it can make for a little bit of a tense situation."
-Racecar driver Helio Castroneves

Business aviation pilots must be ready for everything from bad weather to air-traffic-control problems to the failure of onboard computers. But training in an airplane to handle such situations can be both expensive and dangerous-hence the need for flight simulators.

The uber jet's rarefied air was new territory for Bombardier when it announced the long-range, large-cabin Global Express in 1991. Bombardier's challenge to Gulfstream's dominance of the market for large corporate jets was fraught with perils that would show up on early-production aircraft nearly 10 years later.

Not long ago, the idea of selling fractional shares in business jets looked like a winner. Industry pioneer NetJets-which Warren Buffett had acquired for Berkshire Hathaway in 1998-appeared prosperous, and so did the several other companies that had formed to take advantage of the business model.

The English setter froze, its lithe feathery white tail high in the air. "Move ahead to the right," directed Bill Thacker, who was decked out in fluorescent orange with various whistles and training devices draped from his belt. As I walked briskly with my 20-gauge Beretta over-under shotgun held aloft from my chest, fingering the safety, I could hear faint rustling and chirping.

Because the used-aircraft market enjoyed a robust fourth quarter in 2010, you might expect the current year to witness at least a slow and steady uptick in transactions. That could well be what happens, but keep in mind that fourth-quarter activity is often upbeat-2008 being a key exception-and that this market's future depends heavily on what happens with the overall economy.

Business jets give you better views of the Earth than you can ever get from an airliner. All you need to capture these glorious vistas are a camera and some basic knowledge about techniques. Here are few tips to get you started.

The deep growl of an Audi R8 sidling into the parking lot beside a runway accompanied Helio Castroneves's arrival for our interview at South Florida's Palm Beach County Airport. Turns out the Audi is just one of a stable of hot cars that the three-time Indy 500-winning racecar driver has free access to, thanks to his relationship with car-share club Miami Drive.

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Quote/Unquote

““Corporate executives should be your core business…You need [salespeople who are] comfortable with the kind of boardroom leaders that see Lear Jet as a tool, not a frivolous extravagance for movie stars and their pets.
”

-Advertising executive Pete Campbell to a Lear Jet executive on the penultimate episode of TV’s Mad Men series, set in 1970